The tunnel view is a popular spot shot by many photographers at Yosemite. One can experience its mystical wonder as it undergoes dramatic changes based on aspects such as time, weather and season. This is a recommended photography spot that one can never visit enough.

My varied journey continued through California, which is roughly as large as Japan, and the production of fruits and crops of many varieties in an area of large-scale plantations caught my attention while traveling. I instinctively pressed the shutter at the sight of competing textures in fresh walnuts and metal tools.

Alabama Hills has served as the shooting location for many films thanks to its accessibility from Hollywood. In the distance rises Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous United States (4,418m). The formations with the many arches allows one to enjoy a wide-angle world that evokes a sense of vastness.

Native Americans (the indigenous people of America) did not have a writing culture. They carved a wide variety of shapes on rock faces. While the meaning and purpose of these carvings are unclear, even today the will to record and transmit is conveyed as a message.

Route 395 is a valley route that runs north and south along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The clouds and winds running over the mountains produce an amazing sight. The arch of a rainbow that appeared repeatedly spanned several hours, a gift from the earth that was truly full of mystery and made for an enjoyable day.

The violet dance-like motions of dark clouds instantly covered the clear sky, heralding the arrival of heavy rain and thunderstorms. The harshness of air flow over the mountains produced a dramatic storm.

The Mono Lake area is surrounded by vast grasslands. In the morning light of sunrise, the spectacle of grass swaying in the driving wind gives a sense of shape to the unseen forces that blow. The distant mountains of the Sierra Nevada in the background are also bathed in the morning sun.

No rivers gush forth in this inland area. The salt lake left behind reveals traces of the inland sea that was present several hundred million to several tens of millions of years ago. The groups of bizarrely shaped tufa mounds offer a vivid reminder of what was an ancient inland sea in a sight that opens out before your and fills your vision.

As they bristle in front of a background bathed in the morning sun, the silhouetted tufa mounds of varying shapes form sculptures crafted by time and the forces of nature. The effect of the nine aperture blades in the SP15-30 lent an accent to the beautiful splendor of the sun.

The largest national park of the American mainland is blessed with a wide array of photographic subjects. As the name suggests, it was feared as "Death Valley" during the times of the American Old West. The harsh natural environment was one of high temperatures and a dry world that lies below sea level. This is a wonderland full of mysterious sights carved out by the earth's history. Repeated visits always reveal new expressions.

The sand dunes appear as an expression with wide variety. In order to shoot the instant the dunes are hit by the morning sun, one needs to trek out before daybreak. With no fixed trails, one needs to use the experience and intuition gained from multiple previous visits to crest several hard to negotiate sand dunes to arrive at the targeted spot. From a high sand dune, the faces and ridgelines of sand dunes free of footprints intersected, spreading out in beautiful curves in contrast with the rays of light.

The Badwater Basin is a world of salt lying 84 meters below sea level. With no animals or plant life, it is a harsh area where midsummer temperatures can climb past 50°C. However, the salt-covered ground forms appealing patterns making it a beautiful spot for photography. During the summer months it is hazardous and not suited to photography.